What do you think?
Rate this book
The Weight Of The Ocean
Casual conversations, playful moments, two friends bonding over things that mean nothing, until one day they mean everything...
Paul has a love for the ocean, but has never had the will to learn to swim. Jess draws him to the water, helping him overcome his fear. In the rocky brine, Paul finds more than courage; he finds love in its truest form: Jess. But the scars she carries hidden deep within won't allow her to love. After a beautiful but short lived courtship, she ends their relationship.
The Weight of the Ocean, much like the pain she hides, is simply too much to bear.
Paul has a love for the ocean, but has never had the will to learn to swim. Jess draws him to the water, helping him overcome his fear. In the rocky brine, Paul finds more than courage; he finds love in its truest form: Jess. But the scars she carries hidden deep within won't allow her to love. After a beautiful but short lived courtship, she ends their relationship.
The Weight of the Ocean, much like the pain she hides, is simply too much to bear.
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 9, 2014
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Paul M. Feeney
17 books22 followersPaul M. Feeney was born in Scotland in 1975 and currently lives in the north east of England; he has been into reading and watching horror, dark fantastical stories, and other speculative genre works as far back as he can remember. With this deep love of story and the fantastic, it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually turn his hand to writing his own tales; though it took him until 2012 to write his first short story.
Since then, though, he has penned a number of diverse works, some of which have found homes in the small press. His first published short (and only his second written), THE WEIGHT OF THE OCEAN, was released by Phrenic Press in 2015 as a Kindle only. This was followed by a number of various other short story acceptances, either now published or forthcoming.
His first novella, THE LAST BUS, was released through Crowded Quarantine Publications in mid 2015 (currently only available as a limited edition signed & numbered paperback from the publisher's website). His second novella, KIDS, will be published by Dark Minds Press in the middle of 2016. He is currently working on his first novel, a semi-sequel and expansion to THE LAST BUS. His stories range from character and plot driven pulp horror-SF, with the occasional dash of fantasy, to more emotive, reflective pieces.
In the near future, he intends to separate these two distinctive strands of his output - the more genre driven works, and the contemporary/literary ambitions - with a pseudonym.
His over-riding concern and motivation is with the constant improvement and refinement of what writing ability he has, and with making each story the very best that he can write at that time.
Since then, though, he has penned a number of diverse works, some of which have found homes in the small press. His first published short (and only his second written), THE WEIGHT OF THE OCEAN, was released by Phrenic Press in 2015 as a Kindle only. This was followed by a number of various other short story acceptances, either now published or forthcoming.
His first novella, THE LAST BUS, was released through Crowded Quarantine Publications in mid 2015 (currently only available as a limited edition signed & numbered paperback from the publisher's website). His second novella, KIDS, will be published by Dark Minds Press in the middle of 2016. He is currently working on his first novel, a semi-sequel and expansion to THE LAST BUS. His stories range from character and plot driven pulp horror-SF, with the occasional dash of fantasy, to more emotive, reflective pieces.
In the near future, he intends to separate these two distinctive strands of his output - the more genre driven works, and the contemporary/literary ambitions - with a pseudonym.
His over-riding concern and motivation is with the constant improvement and refinement of what writing ability he has, and with making each story the very best that he can write at that time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 31, 2016
First off, I was generously gifted a copy of this from Paul himself and I'm not just inflating his ego here.
Reading this was like listening to a beautiful song, one you hear once but just have to listen to it several times because you love it so much. Since this is the first thing of his that I've read, the bar is pretty high already. He has a natural, lyrical way of writing. Nothing in this felt forced or contrived, it was really beautiful from start to finish. I always think if I can actively conjure up scenes in my head while I'm reading, then I've found a gem because folks it does not always happen. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Paul's work.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me Paul, I loved it.
Definitely go check out his work! Grab a copy of this, it's a really lovely and worthy read! :)
Reading this was like listening to a beautiful song, one you hear once but just have to listen to it several times because you love it so much. Since this is the first thing of his that I've read, the bar is pretty high already. He has a natural, lyrical way of writing. Nothing in this felt forced or contrived, it was really beautiful from start to finish. I always think if I can actively conjure up scenes in my head while I'm reading, then I've found a gem because folks it does not always happen. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Paul's work.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me Paul, I loved it.
Definitely go check out his work! Grab a copy of this, it's a really lovely and worthy read! :)
July 24, 2015
Paul loves the ocean but has never learned to swim. His new friend Jess, a work colleague with whom he has forged an instant and close bond, offers to teach him and when she does, it brings them closer together. Their new relationship, however, is strained by things in her past that she can’t, or won’t, talk about until it all becomes too much. The story is told through Paul and he’s a well realised character, his developing feelings for his vibrant, free-spirited friend ringing completely true. Jess is a revelation, the perfect woman who’s as imperfect and idiosyncratic, wonderful and frustrating and individual as all women should be and I fell in love with her during the course of the book, the threads of darkness that slowly bind her making me fear for the climax. When it comes, when everything starts to fall, Feeney pulls back from any histrionics and his approach - low-key and subtle - makes the ending all the more powerful and poignant. A melancholic romance (my favourite kind), this is a great addition to the genre of unease, an impressive debut that marks Feeney as being a writer to watch in the future and I highly recommend it.
Merged review:
Paul loves the ocean but has never learned to swim. His new friend Jess, a work colleague with whom he has forged an instant and close bond, offers to teach him and when she does, it brings them closer together. Their new relationship, however, is strained by things in her past that she can’t, or won’t, talk about until it all becomes too much. The story is told through Paul and he’s a well realised character, his developing feelings for his vibrant, free-spirited friend ringing completely true. Jess is a revelation, the perfect woman who’s as imperfect and idiosyncratic, wonderful and frustrating and individual as all women should be and I fell in love with her during the course of the book, the threads of darkness that slowly bind her making me fear for the climax. When it comes, when everything starts to fall, Feeney pulls back from any histrionics and his approach - low-key and subtle - makes the ending all the more powerful and poignant. A melancholic romance (my favourite kind), this is a great addition to the genre of unease, an impressive debut that marks Feeney as being a writer to watch in the future and I highly recommend it.
Merged review:
Paul loves the ocean but has never learned to swim. His new friend Jess, a work colleague with whom he has forged an instant and close bond, offers to teach him and when she does, it brings them closer together. Their new relationship, however, is strained by things in her past that she can’t, or won’t, talk about until it all becomes too much. The story is told through Paul and he’s a well realised character, his developing feelings for his vibrant, free-spirited friend ringing completely true. Jess is a revelation, the perfect woman who’s as imperfect and idiosyncratic, wonderful and frustrating and individual as all women should be and I fell in love with her during the course of the book, the threads of darkness that slowly bind her making me fear for the climax. When it comes, when everything starts to fall, Feeney pulls back from any histrionics and his approach - low-key and subtle - makes the ending all the more powerful and poignant. A melancholic romance (my favourite kind), this is a great addition to the genre of unease, an impressive debut that marks Feeney as being a writer to watch in the future and I highly recommend it.
July 24, 2015
Simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting with a wonderfully described central relationship and lyrical prose.
December 9, 2014
A beautiful story of love, loss and quiet unease.
Despite its 'quiet' nature, there's a great sense of tension created as you wonder how things are going to pan out between the expertly drawn characters, and a nagging sense of dread as you hope for the best, but fear the worst. This is a brilliant and insightful evocation of relationships gone wrong.
As this is Paul M Feeney's first story, you'd do well to watch out for his work - this guy is talented.
Merged review:
A beautiful story of love, loss and quiet unease.
Despite its 'quiet' nature, there's a great sense of tension created as you wonder how things are going to pan out between the expertly drawn characters, and a nagging sense of dread as you hope for the best, but fear the worst. This is a brilliant and insightful evocation of relationships gone wrong.
As this is Paul M Feeney's first story, you'd do well to watch out for his work - this guy is talented.
Despite its 'quiet' nature, there's a great sense of tension created as you wonder how things are going to pan out between the expertly drawn characters, and a nagging sense of dread as you hope for the best, but fear the worst. This is a brilliant and insightful evocation of relationships gone wrong.
As this is Paul M Feeney's first story, you'd do well to watch out for his work - this guy is talented.
Merged review:
A beautiful story of love, loss and quiet unease.
Despite its 'quiet' nature, there's a great sense of tension created as you wonder how things are going to pan out between the expertly drawn characters, and a nagging sense of dread as you hope for the best, but fear the worst. This is a brilliant and insightful evocation of relationships gone wrong.
As this is Paul M Feeney's first story, you'd do well to watch out for his work - this guy is talented.
March 25, 2016
A hauntingly, beautiful tale of a love that is destined not to be. The author sculpts a tragic, and melacholy story with such fine emotional control and depth.
June 28, 2015
Oh my, what a bittersweet story. This is a story of love with emotions laid out so graphically raw, that you will feel every moment of joy, of concern, of loss as the protagonist. At the end, you will be left haunted by the "what if." Brilliantly written as though a friend is relating his experiences to you, so rich and real is the telling.This is an author that I want to read more from!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews